The Evolution of Form (I)：Ref. 1593 and Patek Philippe’s Rectangular Watches

I do not think one needs much historical knowledge, or any preconceived ideas, to find the Patek Philippe Ref. 1593 beautiful. It has a graceful waist, a generously arched profile, and a crystal cut almost like a prism. At first glance, it appears to be a rectangular watch, yet its flowing curves keep reminding you from every angle that things are not quite so simple. Collectors have nicknamed it the “Hour Glass,” and the name is both vivid and apt.

The shape of the 1593 is certainly remarkable, but it also raises a question: why does its crystal form a roof-like ridge across the centre? Looking at the 1593 in isolation gives us few clues. Place it instead within the lineage of Patek Philippe’s rectangular watches, and the answer begins to come into focus.

Patek Philippe ref.1593 | Source: PaddleWaves

01. Prelude

As the wristwatch gradually freed itself from the conventions of the pocket watch, one of the simplest and most direct ways to declare its independence was to adopt a shape other than the pocket watch’s traditional circle. The watch industry experimented with all manner of forms: cushion, tonneau, octagonal, and, of course, rectangular.

When it came to experiments in shape, Cartier was almost always at the forefront. In 1917, it developed the Tank. Its two broad, parallel brancards, evocative of a tank’s tracks, defined the boundaries of the dial while simultaneously integrating case and lugs into a single composition. It was perhaps the most successful and recognisable rectangular wristwatch ever created.

Cartier Tank Normale 1920 in platinum | Source: monochrome

Far fewer people remember that in the very same year, Patek Philippe also introduced a rectangular wristwatch: the Model 10. It was emphatically rectangular, with only the slightest curvature to follow the wrist, and was attached to the strap by the articulated lugs common to the period. The model remained in production into the early 1930s, but it made relatively little noise.

Patek Philippe model 10 | Source:  loupe this

The real turning point in Patek Philippe’s rectangular-watch story came with another reference: the Ref. 425, introduced in 1934.

Before the 425, Patek Philippe had already produced rectangular watches such as the Refs. 406, 410, 417 and 466, as well as the straighter-lined Ref. 146 and the beautiful, exceedingly rare two-tone Ref. 466. Yet the 425 was different from all of them. It was, in a sense, a rectangular watch through and through. Not only was the case rectangular; so was the movement.

Patek Philippe ref.146, 466 and 425 | Source: Onbehalf, Collectability and Sothebys

That same year, Patek Philippe introduced its first in-house rectangular movement, the Calibre 9-90, and the Ref. 425 was among the earliest references to house it. The movement made efficient use of virtually every corner of the caseback, preserving Patek Philippe’s pursuit of refinement even in a place the ordinary wearer would rarely see.

Patek Philippe ref.425 with Calibre 9-90 | Source: Onbehalf

The more immediate reason for the 425’s success, however, was probably its form.
If one were to divide the modern movements in early twentieth-century art and architecture, very broadly and purely in terms of formal expression, one might distinguish between two tendencies: a crystalline modernity of geometric order, and a biomorphic modernity of movement and organic expression. The Ref. 425 belongs to the former.

Its architecture is defined by crisp ridges. The two sides of the case are faceted and slope outward, while the lugs continue directly from the ends of the case. On well-preserved examples, the side profile reveals a distinctly segmented structure: four break lines together create an arch. Compared with the Ref. 146, there is one additional fold, making the bridge-like profile fuller and more pronounced.

Sideview of Patek Philippe ref.425  | Source: Sothebys

To echo the geometry of the case, the crystal was no longer flat. A ridge appeared along its centre, giving it the form of a pitched roof. I believe this is the direct formal origin of the central ridge later seen on the Ref. 1593.

There is another unusual feature of the 425: the apparent seam across the middle of the dial. On most of the examples I have encountered, this line is present. The seam appears to answer a practical problem. To preserve both overall thinness and a profile that rises in the centre while falling away toward the ends, the dial cannot remain completely flat. It must either be raised into a ridge or bend downward at both ends. The central join seems to have been a compromise between physical necessity and formal ambition.

Dial of Patek Philippe ref.425  | Source: Christies

On some examples, the two halves of the dial are finished with diagonal textures running in opposing directions, strengthening the contrast of light and shadow on either side. It is an ingenious solution: aesthetically effective in its own right, while at the same time distracting the eye from the join. Following the same logic, Patek Philippe must surely have considered these spatial constraints when designing the Calibre 9-90. The four corners of the rectangular movement are cut away, helping it accommodate variations in the shape of the case.

Dial of Patek Philippe ref.425  | Source: PrivateEyes

In any event, the Calibre 9-90 proved highly successful. After the Ref. 425, it went on to power a large number of Patek Philippe rectangular watches in wildly different forms.

One recurring motif of the period was the compression and overlapping of the case flanks, a language closely associated with the architectural vocabulary of Art Deco. The Ref. 490, for example, evolved into the double-stepped Ref. 492; the Ref. 514 pushed the idea to three layers; the Refs. 524 and 523 used three overlapping layers inclined toward one side; while the more rectilinear Refs. 519 and 522 employed a two-step construction. Seen from the side, all of these references develop a pronounced bridge-like arch.

Chrysler Building | Source: Archidaily

Patek Philippe stepped motif rectangular watches | Source: Onbehalf, compiled by PaddleWaves

02. The Birth of the Ref. 1593

Ten years after the debut of the Ref. 425, Patek Philippe introduced the Ref. 1593 in 1944.Over the following twenty-three years, total production is estimated at around 1,000 pieces: roughly half in yellow gold, a quarter in pink gold, and the remaining quarter in platinum.

 Like the Ref. 425, the 1593 was powered by the Calibre 9-90. And, again like the 425, its case was made by Markowski, the Geneva casemaker identified by Key No. 8. Markowski specialised in complex, three-dimensional forms and played an indispensable role in Patek Philippe’s production of shaped watches.

Patek Philippe ref.1593 in Platinum | Source: PaddleWaves

As if anticipating the economic revival that would follow the Second World War, the 1593 feels vigorous and full of life. Seen against the extraordinary shaped watches that would follow, it appears almost like a harbinger of spring.

Like the 425, its case forms an arch in profile, but the 1593 is far more supple. Only at the very summit of the curve can one still see a ridge—provided, of course, that the case has survived in sufficiently original condition and has not been heavily polished.

The 1593 reduces the visual weight of the broad upper and lower borders seen on the 425 and shifts the emphasis to the flanks of the case. They draw inward at the centre and then sweep outward above and below, forming a pair of elegant reverse curves when viewed from the front. The dial echoes this movement toward the centre. Except on diamond-set versions, the hour markers are directional, almost arrow-like, all pointing inward. Arabic numerals appear at 3, 9 and 12 o’clock, while at 6, where the subsidiary seconds dial occupies the space, the hour is indicated only by a small dot—a wonderfully light-hearted detail.

Patek Philippe ref.1593 | Source: PaddleWaves

Ridged crystal of Patek Philippe ref.1593 | Source: Phillips

The 1593 inherited the ridged crystal of the 425, but amplified its expressive force. The angle of the facets became steeper and the refraction more dramatic; on some examples, the crystal rises strikingly high above the case.

The crystal was no longer a silent, transparent component of the watch. It had become the highest point of the composition, both literally and visually. Patek Philippe’s own period advertising drawings likewise emphasised the sculptural role of the crystal. Seen from this perspective, the 1593 has few, if any, true equivalents.

 

The central division seen on the dial of the 425 can also be found on the 1593, although it is less universal than on the earlier reference. Nor does its presence appear to correlate neatly with date: flat dials with curved ends can be found in watches from the 1940s, while centrally divided dials still appear in examples from the 1960s. The stronger correlation seems instead to be with configuration. On platinum examples with diamond-set dials, the central division appears with striking frequency.

03. After the Ref. 1593

Both the 1593 and the 425 were successful designs, and each was eventually accompanied by a closely related reference with slightly altered dimensions. For the 425, this was the somewhat wider Ref. 2461; for the 1593, the slightly smaller Ref. 2468.

Beyond these, two other Markowski-made watches deserve mention for their close relationship to the 1593: the Ref. 2441and Ref. 2442. Nicknamed the “Eiffel Tower” and “Marilyn Monroe” respectively, both are among Patek Philippe’s most instantly recognisable shaped watches.

Patek Philippe ref.1593 and its family | Source: Antiquorum,compiled by PaddleWaves

Both appeared in 1948, and both were powered by the Calibre 9-90. The heart was the same, yet the outward forms could hardly have been more different. The 2441 is square-edged, rigid and architectonic, with powerful masses. The 2442 bends and flows, its lines soft and sensuous. One might see them as two opposite transformations of the same formal vocabulary embodied by the 1593.

As an aside, when Patek Philippe introduced the Ref. 5500 in 1997 to celebrate the opening of its new Geneva manufacture, its design was directly inspired by the Ref. 2441.
The Ref. 2554 also deserves a brief mention. Introduced in the early 1950s, its structure is almost the inverse of the 1593 family: instead of narrowing at the centre, the case expands outward through its middle. Yet the two flanks of the case remain the principal vehicles of expression, and the watch likewise continued to use the Calibre 9-90.

In 1996, while Patek Philippe’s watchmaking department was preparing to move premises, a batch of Calibre 9-90 movements made in the 1950s was discovered in storage. They had effectively lain dormant for half a century. Patek Philippe decided to put them to use, eventually creating the platinum limited-edition Ref. 5105.

 

Patek Philippe ref.5105 | Source: Sothebys

Its curved, layered rectangular case took inspiration from the 1930s Ref. 492(You can see it in the earlier images discussing Art Deco Patek). The Art Deco architecture was certainly striking enough, but part of me wishes that the model chosen as its historical reference had instead been the 1593. After all, among the many rectangular watches powered by the Calibre 9-90, the 1593 occupies a particularly important place.

What I have tried to sketch here is the genealogy of one particular branch of Patek Philippe’s vintage rectangular watches: watches in which the visual emphasis lies on the two sides of the case; watches with an arched profile; watches in which lugs and case are conceived as a continuous form.

Within this family, the Ref. 1593 represents the high point. Seen against the broader history of rectangular watches, however, this is only one important branch among many. There are hooded-lug rectangular watches, rectangular watches with separate lugs, and still other categories waiting to be explored. To keep the story from becoming too sprawling, I will stop here—for now.